Chapter 150: I Want to Live

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When Lan Yudie screamed, a short blade flew from her hand, shooting directly at the sword gleam. However, the sword gleam was incredibly fast, and the blade struck nothing.

The sharp sword gleam instantly swept before Lu Ye. A sense of crisis, unlike any he had ever experienced, welled up in his heart. At that moment, he felt a chilling coldness throughout his body, as if the aura of death enveloped him entirely.

At that critical moment of life and death, a Guardian Spirit Mark, larger and more solid than usual, appeared before him. Almost simultaneously, the sword gleam struck.

*Crack...*

The sturdy Guardian Spirit Mark only briefly hindered the sword gleam before shattering completely. Even though Lu Ye desperately channeled his spiritual power, he couldn't stabilize it.

Fortunately, that momentary obstruction caused him to shift his body.

The sword gleam flew past, grazing him, and Lu Ye felt a slight stinging pain in his neck.

Without hesitation, he was about to lunge forward with his blade when a powerful gust of wind assailed him from behind.

He quickly activated another Guardian Spirit Mark, blocking it behind him.

*Crack...*

The spirit mark shattered, and he rolled on the ground, feeling a forceful energy sweep past his head. When he looked up, it was indeed that same sword gleam.

*Buzz...*

The sword gleam hummed, changed direction, and struck at him for a third time. Lu Ye's concentration became intensely focused; the destructive power of this thing was the strongest he had ever encountered, without equal. If he were to be hit carelessly, he would surely die!

Just as Lu Ye stared at the sword gleam, preparing to activate a Guardian Spirit Mark at the opportune moment, a scream suddenly came from nearby. With the scream, the sword gleam retracted, returning to its original long sword form, and fell to the ground.

Lu Ye looked up, following the sound, and saw Lan Yudie holding a short blade, which she had thrust into the heart of the Level Seven Soldier Cultivator. The man was not dead yet, his expression ferocious, and he gasped, "You... can't escape!"

Lan Yudie reached out and, with a subtle pull, the short blade she had just thrown flew back to her. Swiftly and cleanly, she struck with a backhand, severing the man's neck. Blood gushed out, which she managed to avoid in time.

The Level Seven Cultivator fell to his knees, clutching his throat with both hands, then collapsed face down with a thud. A red light flew from the man's body and landed on the back of Lan Yudie's hand.

The faint purple markings clinging to her face slowly faded. Lan Yudie staggered a few steps, appearing unsteady on her feet. Lu Ye quickly stepped forward and supported her.

"Let's go!" Lan Yudie urged.

Spiritual energy fluctuations came from nearby; the commotion of the battle here must have alerted cultivators in the vicinity. It was uncertain which faction they belonged to, but considering Lan Yudie's previous solo entanglement, it was highly probable they were from the Myriad Devil Ridge faction.

Lu Ye put his arm around her, then leapt onto the tiger's back. Amber immediately galloped away.

The spiritual energy fluctuations behind them slowly faded, but Lu Ye's expression was extremely grave. He sensed that something was wrong with Lan Yudie; she must have used some secret art that required a significant cost. Now that the battle was over, her aura had become weak, and her body was hot.

Yiyi was already scouting ahead, searching for a suitable hiding place.

As night fell, Lu Ye took Lan Yudie and hid in a mountain cave; Yiyi had found the spot.

After helping Lan Yudie down from the tiger's back, Lu Ye frowned deeply. She had numerous injuries, which he hadn't had time to tend to earlier. What made it even more difficult was that she had fallen unconscious.

Her injuries were more severe than they appeared.

"Yiyi, treat her injuries," Lu Ye instructed, taking out the medicinal powders and clean cotton cloths that Hua Ci had previously given to Yiyi.

Yiyi immediately emerged.

During her time in Ying Mountain, she had learned a great deal about pharmacology from Hua Ci and Ruan Lingyu. Although she had no special healing methods, she could manage simple bandaging.

Those medicinal powders were specially formulated by Hua Ci and had a remarkably significant healing effect on external injuries from blades and swords.

While Yiyi was busy, Lu Ye sat cross-legged, took out a spirit pill, swallowed it, and replenished his spiritual power.

In the latter half of the night, Lan Yudie slowly regained consciousness, cautiously sat up, and observed her surroundings before finally letting out a breath.

Lu Ye tossed her a piece of dried meat. She reached out, caught it, and began to chew. After eating a bit and recovering some strength, she said hoarsely, "I was careless. I thought I could escape."

If Lu Ye hadn't suddenly turned back to find her during the day, she would certainly have died there.

"Are Qi Xin and the others dead?" Lu Ye suddenly asked.

Lan Yudie looked at him in surprise, wondering why Lu Ye would suddenly ask that. She had never told him about the fate of her fellow disciples.

"Two died," Lan Yudie said, her eyes dimming.

Lu Ye fell silent. He didn't even know which two had died.

Lan Yudie spoke, "You should go by yourself. Taking me will slow you down. My injuries won't heal completely anytime soon, and I'm afraid I won't be much help if we encounter enemies on the way."

"We'll go together."

Lan Yudie was somewhat annoyed. "I said that taking me will slow you down. Don't you understand?"

"I understand."

"If you understand, then go by yourself."

Lu Ye looked up at her, insisting, "We'll go together."

Lan Yudie said gravely, "I think you truly don't understand reason! Do you know that two of my junior disciples died for this damned mission? I didn't even know you before; I came here only because I was ordered by my sect. You're not my son, so why should I risk my life for you? Why should we, the younger generation, bear the grievances of the previous generation? And do you know that in places you can't see, many more people are entangled with Myriad Devil Ridge cultivators, just to stop them from coming after you? During this period, declarations of war between sects have increased dozens of times more than usual! What are we fighting for? What are they fighting for? Isn't it all just so you can live? So... hurry up and go, and stay alive! Don't let my two junior disciples die in vain, don't let those who secretly helped die for nothing!"

She rattled on, expecting Lu Ye to listen, but to her surprise, he remained impassively seated and simply looked at her, asking, "Are you done?"

"Huh?" Lan Yudie was momentarily speechless because of him, finally sputtering, "I really want to punch you!"

Lu Ye sighed and said, "Half a year ago, I was just a mine slave in Evil Moon Valley. I was rescued by the Vast Heaven Alliance, guided by someone, and joined the Jade Blood Sect. But before the Sect Master could even take me back to the sect, I was ambushed midway. The Sect Master, with no other choice, sent me into the Spirit Creek Battlefield. I didn't even know what the Jade Blood Sect looked like. All these days, I've had only one goal: to reach the Jade Blood Sect's stronghold."

"As you said, why should we, the younger generation, bear the grievances of the previous generation? Including you, including me, we don't even know what happened to the previous generation. But... I think, since I've joined the sect and bear its mark, it's natural to inherit the sect's grievances. This is something no one can avoid."

"In these past six months in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, although I've reached Level Five cultivation, what does that amount to compared to this vast battlefield? Who am I, Lu Ye, and with my small body, how can I withstand the struggle between two major factions? Why should they place the center of this conflict on me? But since I'm already embroiled in this dispute, there's no way to stand aside. I only recently learned that many people are secretly helping me, and many have died because of it."

"I don't want to say that their deaths have nothing to do with me. Whether it was due to sect orders or their connections with the Jade Blood Sect, they were helping me. This kindness, I will engrave in my heart!"

Lan Yudie watched him quietly.

Originally, she harbored quite a bit of resentment towards this sect mission. After all, they hadn't known Lu Ye before, yet they were ordered to protect him, and two people had even died because of it. And those who died in the wilderness—how pitiful and tragic they were.

But now, it seemed the most pitiful and tragic was this young boy before her.

Indeed, with merely Level Five cultivation, he had become the center of a struggle between two major factions. So many cultivators from Myriad Devil Ridge wanted to take his life, including powerful figures from their core circle. How much pressure must he be under?

This wasn't the situation he desired; he had merely been drawn into the vortex of conflict by circumstance. If it were her, she probably would have collapsed long ago.

"So... what are you trying to say?"

"So!" Lu Ye smiled at her. "I want to live. I don't care what grievances the previous generation had, nor why my sect is being targeted like this. Since so many people are secretly helping me, and dying because of me, then I must live! You're right, I can't let those people die in vain. My cultivation is still low now, so I'm not qualified to talk about repaying kindness or seeking revenge, but as long as I live, I'll have that chance! Those from Myriad Devil Ridge had better cut me down before I return to the Jade Blood Sect, otherwise, one day, I will make every Myriad Devil Ridge force that targeted me pay the price!"

Lan Yudie stared at him blankly, listening to his childish, almost irrational, boasts. Finally, she managed to blurt out, "You must be crazy!"

He was, after all, still a youth, prone to occasionally speaking with fiery ambition. In the past few days spent with Lu Ye, Lan Yudie had thought he was an introverted person, but now she realized she was wrong.

"I won't leave you behind," Lu Ye's next sentence made Lan Yudie so angry she wanted to spit blood. "If I left, you probably wouldn't survive long. Rest well tonight; we'll depart tomorrow morning."

Lan Yudie glared at him in exasperation, but Lu Ye met her gaze calmly.

After a long moment, Lan Yudie shifted her gaze, realizing she probably couldn't persuade him.

Suddenly, her expression tightened. "Did you change my clothes?"

Only then did she realize her clothes had been changed; she was wearing a set of men's clothing, which by its size, seemed to belong to the boy before her. Moreover, her wounds had been properly treated, an unknown medicine applied, and meticulously bandaged, causing a tingling sensation at the injury sites.

"No!"

Lan Yudie's face instantly flushed red. "You... you saw everything?"

"I said it wasn't me!" Lu Ye defended himself.

Lan Yudie's face grew even redder. "If it wasn't you, then did Big White change them for me?"

Amber looked up at her, a little unhappy.